Flexible door



W. D. BEHLEN FLEXIBLE DOOR Feb. 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1962 INVENTOR. IYIATEED. BEAZE/V firiaielyfi W. D. BEHLEN FLEXIBLE DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 6; 1962 IN VEN TOR.

j p Wm W r Mm 2 M l United States Patent 3,169,574 FLEXIBLE DOOR Walter D. Behlen, Columbus, Nebr., assignor to Behlen Manufacturing Company, Inc., Columbus, Nebn, a corporation of Nebraska Filed July 6, 1962, Ser. No. 207,969 2 Claims. (Cl. 160-363) This invention relates to large opening doors for aircraft hangars, industrial warehouses, and the like, and more particularly to a single sheet flexible metal sliding door for the same. 1

One of the problems encountered in previous doors of this magnitude is that they must be mounted on rails that extend in a straight line from the sides of the door opening and thus create an obstruction hazard at each side and end of the building.

Another problem encountered with previous sliding doors is that they are precariously subject to wind damage.

Still another problem is that they are heavy and difficult to operate.

A further problem is that they aredifiicult to transport and erect.

Still another problem is that they are expensive to manufacture and install.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that can be mounted on rails that closely follow the corners of the building utilizing the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that eliminates the previous obstruction hazard at each facade corner of the building utilizing the same.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that is substantially impervious to wind and like damage.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that is relatively light in weight.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that is easy to operate.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a single sheet flexible sliding door that is relatively easy to transport and erect.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that is capable of being erected so as to slide either horizontally or vertically.

Still further objects of this invention are to provide a large magnitude single sheet flexible sliding door that is economical in manufacture, durable in use, and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the lower end portion of my flexible door showing its mounting means,

FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of my door and more fully illustrates its mounting means,

FIG. 3 is a reduced inner side View of my door, and

FIG. 4 is a reduced top plan view of my door.

In these drawings I have used the numeral 19 to generally designate an aircraft hangar, building, barn, garage, warehouse, or the like, having a floor 12, a facade wall 14, and side wall 16, and a door opening 17. It is to such building structures and their entrances that I direct my door and which I will now describe in detail.

The numeral 22 generally designates a support and guide rail disposed on the floor 12 and horizontally ex tending in closely spaced parallel relation to the inner surface of the facade 14, door opening 17, and thence curving at the front corner of the building so as to extend in closely spaced parallel relation to the inner surface of the side wall 16, as shown in FIG. 4.

The numeral 24 generally designates a similar guide rail operatively located above the entrance 20 near the top periphery of the inner surface of the facade wall 14. door opening 17, and then curved at the building corner to extend at the top inside of the wall 16. The rail 24 extends horizontally in substantially superimposed spaced parallel relation to the rail 22. It is supported to the frame of the building, as shown in FIG. 3.

The numeral 26 generally designates my flexible sliding door which is constructed of an operatively single sheet of corrugated metal, or the like, and which operatively extends between and in communication with the rails 22 and 24. The door 26 has major parallel corrugations 28 that protrude outwardly and alternate inwardly. These major alternate corrugations are, of course, parallel to each other and extend transverse to the rails 22 and The numeral 32 generally designates a plurality of minor corrugations that are parallel to the major corrugations, and may form a part of the major corrugations, as shown in FIG. 4. The flexible corrugated door 26 is for all intents and purposes a single sheet of corrugated material. This single sheet, however, may consist of several secured together panels.

The numeral 34 generally designates a support dolly disposed near the bottom inner side end of each alternate corrugation 28 and in operative contact with the rail 22. These support dollies are each comprised of a base plate 36 which is suitably secured to the inner side of its respective corrugations 28, such as by bolts 38 and 40 extending through the flexible door 26, as shown in FIG. 1. The numeral 42 generally. designates an obtuse angled arm pivotally disposed on the bolt 40 in the area of its angle in such a manner that the plane of elongation of the arm 42 is parallel to and movably substantially against the presenting surface of the base plate 36. The obtuse angle of the arm 42 is located above and to one side of the bolt 40. The numeral 44- generally designates a second arm means similar to the arm 42 that is also pivotally disposed on the bolt 40 and slidably against the arm 42. However, the arm 44 has its obtuse angle located above and to the opposite side of the bolt 4%) from that of the arm 42, as best shown in FIG. 1. The opposed spaced apart top ends of the arms 42 and 44 are yieldingly drawn together by means of the coil spring 46 which is secured thereto and communicates therebetween.

The numerals 47 and 48 generally designate dolly wheels that respectively are operatively rotatably secured to the opposed bottom ends of the arms 42 and 44 and are disposed in a vertical plane substantially parallel to that of the base plate 36. The dolly wheels 47 and 48 are each peripherally grooved, as shown in FIG. 2, to be in contact with and roll on the rail 22.

The numeral 50 generally designates a guide dolly disposed near the bottom inner edge of each of the corrugations 28 that are alternate to the corrugations 28 which have support dollies 34 secured thereto. The guide dolly 50 is comprised of a base plate. 52 that is secured near the bottom inner side edge of its respective corrugation 28 by bolt means 53 as shown in FIG. 1. Integral with and extending horizontally outwardly from the bottom of the base plate 52 is the triangular plate 54. This plate 54 is located over the rail 22 in such a manner that its two base corners are on one side of the rail 22 and its apex is on the other side. The numeral 56 generally designates a horizontal guide wheel rotatably secured to and below each corner of the triangular plate 54. The two base corner wheels are, of course, rotatably in contact with the outer side of the rail 22 and the apex wheel is in rotatable contact with the inner side of the rail 22, as shown in FIG. 2. If desired, a plurality of both major and minor corrugations to impart to the door sheet a relatively great tortional strength as well as longitudinal flexibility. The door will withstand winds of high velocity. The entire door unit can be loosely rolled up into a column and easily transported to the site where it is to be used, unrolled, and installed as a unit. Experience has shown that my door is excellent for closing large open door areas, such as airplane hangars. In the drawings I show my door as a horizontal one, but it has proven itself as a vertical door by simply vertically installing the rails 22 and 24 at each side of the open door entrance and then curving them at their tops to extend horizontally at the ceiling of the building. The transverse relationship of the corrugations relative to the rails is retained but in such a vertical door, the corrugations will run horizontally. In such vertical doors, it is recommended that the spaced apart dollies 34 and 50 be used at each side edge of the flexible door sheet 26. With such a vertical slidable door, the door sheet 26 will flex at the top of the door opening to assume a horizontal condition near the ceiling of the building. To close such a vertical door, it is merely necessary to pull it outwardly and then downwardly. If my door is to be horizontally operated, to open the door it is merely necessary to push it horizontally from the door opening and it will curve to assume a position adjacent the inside of the building wall 16. To close the open doorway, the flexible door sheet is merely drawn horizontally across the door opening. Obviously, the corrugated door will not flex against the longitudinal lengths of the corrugations. Therefore, the coil springs 46 will not longitudinally bend the corrugations but lth springs 46 will yieldingly hold the wheels 47 and 48 in contact with the rail supports and thereby automatically compensate for any variations, irregularities, or like, in the installed unit or for any variations, irregularities or like that might develop after extended usage.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my flexible door without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim: 1. In a sliding one sheet door means, comprising, in

combination,

4 a second sliding door guide rail disposed above said doorway and horizontally extending in a similar spaced parallel relation to the Wall of said building having said doorway as said first guide rail, and a single piece flexible sheet door panel of suflicient height and length to close 01f said doorway disposed between and in operative slidable communication with said first and second rails;

said first and second rails being horizontally extended so as to horizontally bend at the corner junction of said wall and thence extend along at least one side wall thereto in a manner similar to their extension and position to said wall having said doorway;

said door panel being comprised of a flexible metal like material and adapted to flex around and with said bend in said first and second rails when said door is moved in relation to said doorway; said door panel having parallel vertical major corrugations interconnected by fla-t vertical portions, said flat portions being parallel to the adjacent rails;

said door panel having at least three parallel vertical minor corrugations in each of said major corrugations, each minor corrugation being V-shaped and having leg portions extending at an angle to the adjacent rails,

said major corrugations being convex outwardly of a vertical plane through said door along its longitudinal axis and said flat vertical portions being disposed closely adjacent to the vertical plane of said door,

a plurality of spaced apart vertically disposed dollies adjacent the bottom and top edges of said door panel, a plurality of spaced apart horizontally disposed dollies adjacent the bottom and top edges of said door panel,

said vertically and horizontally disposed dollies being arranged in alternating relationship along said door, and

means for securing each of said dollies to said fiat vertical portion of said door whereby said door is firmly held against movement from vertical and horizontal forces.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein each of said vertically disposed dollies includes a pair of members pivotally connected together intermediate their ends, each member having a wheel on one end, and a spring means connecting the other end of each pair of members to urge said adjacent wheels towards each other and outwardly of the door panel, said members being secured to said door such that their wheels are in yieldable rotatable engagement with the adjacent rail.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 162,930 5/75 Knapp 20-19 1,450,729 4/23 Leeds 20-19 2,071,502 2/37 Dalton -209 XR 2,523,302 9/50 Hunt 1697 2,554,427 5/51 Swann l8946 2,604,162 7/52 Hickling et a] -20l 2,827,957 3/58 Haws 160199 2,914,775 12/59 Kauflman 160363 XR 3,016,951 1/62 Greene l60346 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 611,781 10/26 France.

827,218 2/60 Great Britain.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner,

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner, 

1. IN A SLIDING ONE SHEET DOOR MEANS, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A BUILDING STRUCTURE HAVING A WALL WITH A DOORWAY, A SLIDING DOOR GUIDE SUPPORT RAIL DISPOSED ON THE DOOR OF SAID BUILDING AND HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING IN CLOSELY SPACED PARALLEL RELATION TO THE WALL OF SAID BUIDLING HAVIGN SAID DOORWAY, A SECOND SLIDING DOOR GUIDE RAIL DISPOSED ABOVE SAID DOORWAY AND HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING IN A SIMILAR SPACED PARALLEL RELATION TO THE WALL OF SAID BUIDLING HAVING SAID DOORWAY AS SAID FIRST GUIDE RAIL, AND A SINGLE PIECE FLEXIBLE SHEET DOOR PANEL OF SUFFICIENT HEIGHT AND LENGTH TO CLOSE OFF SAID DOORWAY DISPOSED BETWEEN AND IN OPERATIVE SLIDABLE COMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND RAILS; SAID FIRST AND SECOND RAILS BEING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDED SO AS TO HORIZONTALLY BEND AT THE CORNER JUNCTION OF SAID WALL AND THENCE EXTEND ALONG AT LEAST ONE SIDE WALL THERETO IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO THEIR EXTENSION AND POSITION TO SAID WALL HAVING SAID DOORWAY; SAID DOOR PANEL BEING COMPRISED OF A FLEXIBLE METAL LIKE MATERIAL AND ADAPTED TO FLEX AROUND AND WITH SAID BEND IN SAID FIRST AND SECOND RAILS WHEN SAID DOOR IS MOVED IN RELATIOIN TO SAID DOORWAY; SAID DOOR PANEL HAVING PARALLEL VERTICAL MAJOR CORRUGATIONS INTERCONNECTED BY FLAT VERTICAL PORTIONS, SAID FLAT PORTIONS BEING PARALLEL TO THE ADJACETN RAILS; SAID DOOR PANEL HAVING AT LEAST THREE PARALLEL VETICAL MINOR CORRUGATIONS IN EACH OF SAID MAJOR CORRUGATIONS, EACH MINOR CORRUGATION BEING V-SHAPED AND HAVING LEG PORTIONS EXTENDING AT AN ANGLE TO THE ADJACENT RAILS, SAID MAJOR CORRUGATIONS BEING CONVEX OUTWARDLY OF A VERTICAL PLANE THROUGH SAID DOOR ALONG ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND SAID FLAT VERTICAL PORTIONS BEING DISPOSED CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE VERTICAL PLANE OF SAID DOOR, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART VERTICALLY DISPOSED DOLLIES ADJACENT THE BOTTOM AND TOP EDGES OF SAID DOOR PANEL, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED DOLLIES ADJACENT THE BOTTOM AND TOP EDGES OF SAID DOOR PANEL, SAID VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED DOLLIES BEING ARRANGED IN ALTERNATING RELATIONSHIP ALONG SAID DOOR, AND MEANS FOR SECURING EACH OF SAID DOLLIES TO SAID FLAT VERTICAL PORTION OF SAID DOOR WHEREBY SAID DOOR IS FIRMLY HELD AGAINST MOVEMENT FROM VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL FORCES. 